Valve structure



Jan. 27, 1931 R. E. Q WEI L 1,790,353

vAL vE sTRucTuim Filed Dec. 2, 1927 Patented Ja 27,1931

- UNITE-D sTArEs PATEIJT 6mm 2.03am E. nnwnLL, or rawm, rnmrsnvam' vALvasratc'rnnm Application Med December .2, 1927. Serial No. 937,170

an auxiliary supply of gas for a ilot flame,

1o which will burn continuously or ill ignite gas from the main supplyeach time such main supply is turned on as by athermostatically-controlled valve. In such devices there is commonly nomeans for automatically controlling the supply of gasfor the pilot flamenor. for automatically shutting off the main flow of gas in case thepilot flame should become extinguished. To rovide a pilot flame, it'isusual to en p y a small by-pass for gas from the supply ine to theburner, and, due 'to the verysmall size of the orifice required, such b-pass freqllliently becomes clogged, particu arly where v t egascontainsforeign matter. One object of my invention is to provide means forautomatically shutting off the supply of all gasto the burner in casethe flame o'r pilot becomes extinguished.

Another object of 'my invention is to provide means for automaticallycontrolling the supply of gas to the pilot flame, so that such flamemaybe maintained at a predetermined volume.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved form ofthermostat element that-will not oxidize or. deteriorate in the intenseheat of the bu'rner'flame.

Still another object of my invention is'to simplify and improvegenerally the structure 4 and operation of fluid fuel burner devices.

One form which my invention may take .is shown in the accompanyingdrawing, wherein Figure 1 is an elevational view of heatingapparatusequipped with my invention; Fig.

2 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale,

of one of the control valves of Flg. 1, and

Fig. 3 is a perspectiveiview of the protecting sleeve, for the thermalelement of Fi 2. v

The invention is shown as employe in connection with a domestic waterheater struc- V the valve 17, and through the outlet 14. A

.ture comprising a storage tank l, heating coils 5, a burner 6, andathermostaticallycontrolled valve 7 for normally controlling the mainflow of gas to the burner in accordl,

ance with the temperature of the water withinthe tank 4. These parts maybe of various well-known forms. P

My invention resides more especially in theQprovision of an auxiliaryvalve control device whereby a supply of gas for a pilot e0 flame isautomatically-maintained at a predetermined rate, and whereby the gas,both theauxiliary supply for the pilot flame and the main supply, areautomatically cut off in casethe flames become extinguished. The controlapparatus above referred to includes .a valve casing -8 having valveseats 9 and 10,

with a space or ,chamber'between' them, and cover plates or castings 11,and 12. The casin 8-is provided with an inlet 13 through whic the maingas supply enters from the thermostatically-controlled valve 7, and withan outlet 141that communicates with the burner 6.

A cover plate 11 is provided with an inlet 15, I through which gas forthe pilot flame may flow from a supply line 15a that has connec- K tionwith the main supplyline 7a in advance 7 of the thermostat 7.

lalve discs 16 and 17 co-operate with the sea s 9 and 10 respectively.The valve disc- 16 is loosely connected to a stem 18, which stem isslidably supported in a boss 19 of the Y valve casing 8; The outer endof the'stem 18 loosely engages with the valve 17. A spring 20 urges thevalve 16 to its seat and, acting through the stemf18,,urges the valve 17from its seat. Normally, the valve'16 will be closed and gas for theburner 6 will flow from the primary valve 7, through the inlet 13, past'within the tube 21, its outer end abutting against a screw plug 23 thatis carried, by the tube 21, and its inner end extending into a recess inthe valve 17. Should the burner flame be extinguished, it will be seenthat the tube 21 will cool and shrink, thus drawing the rod 22 inwardlyand pushing the valve 17 to its seat, thereby shutting off entirely theflow of gas to the burner.

In cases where the main supply of gas from the valve 17 is reducedbelowthe predetermined volume for the pilot flame, the temperature of thethermostattube 21 will, of

course, be reduced, causing it to contract to such an extent as to movethe valve 16 from its seat, thereby admitting suflicient gas past thevalves 16 and 17 to maintain a normal pilot flame. Should the flame inthe burner 6 become completely extinguished, the tube 21 will shrink tosuch extent as to completely close the valve 17, shutting off flow ofgas both from the primary valve 7 and the pilot control valve 16. Inorder to again establish flow of gas to the burner, a lighted match willfirst be applied to the tube 21, causing it to quickly expand and allowthe valve 17 to open under pressure of the spring 20, for the passage ofgas which will be ignited by the match;

A snug-fitting sleeve 25 is provided around the tube 21, for the purposeof sealing it off from the air and consequently preventing oxidizationthereof, through contact with the burner flame. This sleeve may be ofchromium steel, which will resist oxidization say up to 2000 F., or maybe of various other suitable materials. The sleeve is thin enough toreadily transmit heat to the copper tube, and may be removed and relaced by taking off the cap 23 and sliding t e sleeve off the tube 21,if the cap 23- is of considerably greater diameter than the tube.However, if the cap is of small diameter, as shown in Fig. 2, the sleeve25 can be slid off without disturbing the cap and, consequently, thesetting of the thermostat-that is without disturbing the relativepositions of the tube 21 and the rod 22, with consequent variation inadjustment of the valves 16 and L7 relative to the tube 21. Due to itsrelatively low coeflicient of expansion, it is split its entire lengthto spring or yield so it will not bind on the tube 21 and prevent thenormal expansion or contraction thereof.

If the thermostat 7 is asnap-actingor quick-acting one, which suddenlyshuts off all gas to' the main burner flame, it will be necessary to usean independent pilot burner which remains lighted, and to place theelement 22 within a zone afl'ectedby the pilot flame but little aflectedby the main burner Otherwise, the sudden extinguishing of the mainburner wouldca-use the pilot to go out also, as .the element 22 wouldnot have time to cool sufliciently to open the valve disc 16.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with a fuel burner, of means for controlling supplyof fuel thereto, comprising a valve casing having a main inlet, anauxiliary inlet and an outlet, a main valve controlling flow from themain inlet to said outlet, an auxiliary valve for controlling flow fromthe auxiliary inlet past the a pilot flame, a thermostatic device actedupon by the burner flame, and means effective upon movement of saidthermostatic devlce in one direction for impartmg openlng movement tothe auxiliary valve and effective upon further movement of said deviceto effect closure of the main valve.

3. The combination with a fuel burner, of a main source of fuel supplytherefor, an auxiliary source of fuel supply for a pilot flame, andthermostatic means acted upon by the burner flame and operable uponmovement in one direction for admitting fuel from the auxiliary sourceand upon further movement 1n said direction to shut off the supply offuel from both of said sources.

4. The combination with a fuel gurner, of a main source of fuel supplytherefor, an auxiliary source of fuel supply for a pilot flame, andthermostatic means acted upon by the burner flame and operable upon movement in one direction for admitting fuel from the auxiliary source and uon further movement in said direction to s ut off the supply of fuelfrom both of said sources, thesaid thermostatic device when in its 0posite extreme position serving to permit ow of fuel from said mainsource, to the exclusion of the flow of fuel from the auxiliary source.

, 5. The combination with water heater structure comprising a fuelburner, a water receptacle, a thermostat controlling a main supply offuel to the burner in accordance with the temperatureof the water, and apilot supply line independent of the thermostat control, of anadditional thermostat device actuated directly'by temperature changes inthe zone of the burner for controlling flow through said line and forshutting off the said main flow of fuel tothe burner in the sequencenamed.

6. The combination with a. fuel burner, of a main source of fuel supplytherefor, an auxiliary source of fuel supply for a pilot flame,

and thermostatic means actuated directly by temperature changes in thezone of the burner and o erable u on movement in one direction for aitting uel from the auxiliar source andupon further movement in saidirection to shut ofl' the supply of fuel from both of said'sources.

In testimony whereof I, the said ROBERT v E. NEWELL, have hereunto setmy hand. 0 I ROBERTE. NEWELL.

